Time for shakeout cruise #2...rode around the area for about a half hour, 11 miles or so. Trying to get it good and warm so I can do that carb fine tuning using emo's suggestions. At about mile 10 I swung by where my younger son was playing with some buddies and they said, "Dude, that thing's leaking." Sure enough there was oil dripping from the right side crankcase cover again but this was expected. I had done a thorough cleaning job of the inside of the cover so that when the leak reoccurred I could track down its source. A few blocks from home I noticed the bike losing power...not missing, just not responding to throttle messages as well. Got home OK, oil dripping out somewhat impressively. Since I had these other problems I had to shut 'er down and not do the carb tuning. Tore off the muffler and right side crankcase cover (I'm getting pretty fast at this now) and looked around. Didn't see anything at first, but then I peeked behind the drive sprocket and saw that huge oil seal behind it was loose from the seat it should be in. Well, I imagine that could leak a little oil. Removed the chain and drive sprocket assembly, examined the oil seal and noticed that in addition to it not staying at home it was cracked. So I've ordered a new one and won't be able to ride on what promises to be a beautiful Puget Sound spring day tomorrow. It'll give me a chance to dive into the CB175 I bought that has a stuck throttle.
I checked the oil, it was down between the two upper marks on the dipstick, so it didn't lose much. That's good, but I'm still worried about the losing power thing at the end of the ride. A little oil loss from a seal wouldn't cause that I imagine. Timing wasn't advanced too far, so I don't think it was imminent piston seizure. But I'm not an expert...all I can do is replace the seal, do the initial setup tasks and fire it up again.
Fresh meat!Progress...I guess...sort ofGot the new oil seal Wednesday and installed it with a little bit of Hondabond. Since the chain was off I took the opportunity to replace the rear wheel sprocket with a new one I had. Put everything back together, started it up. Started OK but I noticed very soon gas again dripping from the header/muffler connection. Aagh! Evidently my old problem with no spark on the left side is back. This would explain my loss of power toward the end of my ride Saturday.
Re-timed it using emo's formula, made a slight adjustment. Still no spark at the plug. Cut another 1/4" off the end of the plug wire and reinserted. No change. Swapped the plug wires to the opposite coils and checked for spark while cranking with the plugs grounded against the cylinder fins. No spark on either now. Hmmm. Got new plugs, did some more fiddling. Got the left side plug and wire to spark using the right side coil. Opposite case - no spark. Maybe the left side coil is bad? My challenge is I keep repeating tests but getting different results. Sometimes no spark, sometimes weak spark. Frustrating...electrical is not my strong suit. Thanks, SteveAfter all the shenanigans yesterday, upon starting the LEFT side was fine and the RIGHT side was not working. (heavy sigh)
I'll do the swap you suggest and report back. Nothing's easySo after puzzling over the whole thing during a quiet moment, I decided not to swap the wiring across on the coils right away since my current problem is no action on the right side where it was the left giving me fits just before. I cut 1/4" off the plug wire and reinstalled into the cap on the right side. This seemed to give me spark, but still it wouldn't run on the right side. So now I'm thinking it's fuel, so I disassemble and thoroughly clean the right side carb. Nothing obviously wrong there. Then I swap spark plugs, finding the left spark plug fired nicely on the right. So I threw away what I assume is an inferior spark plug and replaced it with a new one. It fired up, both sides working OK but stronger exhaust pulse on the right side (which wouldn't fire at all an hour ago.) I warmed it up, seemed to be running better. No time for a ride this evening, I'll do that tomorrow. Maybe I don't have electrical problems, it could be crappy plugs (which have all been new NGK D8HA's.)
It's a runnerWaiting for some response to my question about the breather tube in the "Motors" forum, but here's an update. The lack of spark on the left side then the right side without swapping anything across has been frustrating but the motor seems to be running ok now. Maybe it was just bad new plugs, but even though these things are only a couple bucks apiece they are not regularly failing devices in my experience. After yesterday's ride, I still had a stronger exhaust pulse on the right side than the left so I manipulated the air screws and throttle slide screws in accordance with emo's advice. Air screws affected engine speed slightly, but the the throttle slide screws had no effect at all. Right side backed off quite far, left side all the way in, no change. And I know they were exactly the same before all this.
When decelerating or accelerating, the motor is smooth. But running at mid throttle there's a bit of two-stroke character. So the question I'd like to throw out there to you chaps with bikes in good running order is this: when you're cruising along at partial throttle at steady speed, say 25 mph in second gear, does your bike sound smooth as a generator or is there a bit of burbling?
Re: It's a runnerI find it hard to believe that the slide screws had no effect. OH WELL!. .......lm
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